Electrically-wound clock.



N0- 830,473. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906! P. L. CLARK. ELEGTRIGALLY WOUND CLOCK.

APPLIOATTON F LED OCT. 13, 1902. RENEWED JAN.8,1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PERCY L. CLARK, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO- THE NATIONAL SELF-WINDING CLOCK COM- PANY, OF CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ELECTRlCALLY-WOUND CLOCK- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

To al /Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERCY L. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electrically-Wound Clocks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this inventionis to provide an improved means. for closing the circuit for energizing the winding devices of an electrically-wound clock, in which the circuitclosing elements comprise a liquid conductor,

I 5 such as mercury, which flows into and out of circuit-closing position in a suitable carrying-chamber which is tilted for the purpose of reversing its inclination to cause the flow to occur in one direction or the other.

The improvements consist in the features of construction of the device for carrying the mercury and the means for operatlng said mercury-carrying elements, as set out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a rear side elevation of a portion of a clock mechanism embodying my improvements in respect to circuit-closing devices, the parts being shown in circuit-closing position. Fig. 2 is a sec- 0 tion at the line 2 2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section at the line 3 3 on Fig. 2, taken axially through the liquid-contact chamber.

In the drawings only so much of the clock mechanism is shown as necessary to the un- 3 5 derstanding of the operation of the improved circuit-clos1ng devices. These devices are represented as ap lied to an electricallywound clock in whlchthe train is driven by a spring which is wound or coiled to set it 0 for action and which in reacting or rewinding in running the train drives the same element by which it is itself operated upon in winding, so that said element is moved one way in winding and the other way in the un 4 5 winding or running action, having thus a back-and-forth movement. The winding is effected by the encounter of an abutment on the armature-lever with a winding camlever which is fulcrumed concentrically with the mainspring shaft. The mainspring is in this construction secured'at the outer end .to a point fixed with respect to the hearings from within, the inner end being attached to a drum or sleeve which is rotated or rocked on the main shaft by the movement communicated to the winding camlever from the armature-lever. The back-andforth swinging movement of the cam-lever involves a back-and-forth rocking movement of the sleeve or drum. The train, it will be understood, is carried by pawl-and-ratchet connection between the sleeve of the winding-lever and an adjacent Wheel of the train mounted on the same shaft. The drawings may be interpreted inviewpf this general description of the movement. In them there is shown the back-plate 1 of the clock-frame and the mainspring 2,having its outer end secured to the housing 3, which is rigid with the backplate, and has its inner end connected to the sleeve 1 of the winding cam-lever 5, said lever being mounted on a shaft 13, on which the wheel 14 is also mounted, said latter wheel being driven by the engagement of a pawl 16, which is pivoted on the train-wheel with the ratchet-disk 15, which is rigid with the sleeve. On the armature-lever 7 the abutment 6 is located in position to encounter and actuate the winding cam-lever to do the winding when the armature 8 is attracted toward the poles of the magnet 9 To the sleeve 4 at the rear side of the.

plate and past the end of the shaft 13, with its axis approximately intersecting the axis produced of said shaft. The liquid-contact chamber 18 is provided at the end opposite that at which it is mounted on the lever-arm 17 with a cap 19, the cap being closed by an insulating-disk 20, at the center of which an electrode 21 is mounted and rigidly secured, with its inner end exposed within the chamber, its outer and arranged for attachment of a flexible conducting-wire 22. The disk is made secure in its place by means of non-conducting cement 23, which is caused to flow leveriarm projecting along he chamber rear the same to point substantially opposite the end of the shaft 13. At this point it has eye through. which the conducting wire 22 is passed, so that th rocking of the chamber does not drag the Wire and the Weight of the latter does not have to be lifted by said rocl zing movement of the chamber. From one pole or" suitable battery 30 a circuit-Wire :28 leads to the electrcmagnet and thence to the frame, to which it is connected at any convenient })Ol3lh-&S, for examp e, at the binding-post 29 From the eye 25 theflexible circuit-Wire 22 leads to the'other pole of the battery 36. The circuit is interrupted at the liquid-contact chamber except when the mercury 26 is lodged the end of the cham her having the electrode 21, and when it is thus lodged, the circuit being complete, the

magnet is energized and the armature actuated, causing the abutment 6 to operate upon the Winding cam -.leven 5, driving it in direction to Wind the spring and rocking the liquid-contact chamber 18- away from circuitclosing position, the range of movement due to each such Winding impulse varying upon the force of the Winding stroke, being at the minimum more than suiilcient to carry the chamber past the horizontal position in direction causing the contact end to be upward,

so that the mercury will flow avvay from that end, breaking tne circuit and interrupting the pull or the magnet upon the armature and permitting the armatureeeve'r to return to the position of rest. As the train runs under the stress of the spring reacting upon the winding; the liquid-contact chamber gradually approaches the horizontal position, and as soon as it passes that positi l me mercury starts irom the end at which it nae up to that time been lodged and flows or rolls in a globule to the contact end and reestablishes the circuitand the inding action is repeated. The action of the Winding device is naturally abru t and the armaturedever acts, as by a.

blot: or its abutment 6, on the Winding camlever, tending to produce a very quick Winding action; but nevertheless it is desirable that the current should be maintained throu hout the entire" inding movement and t at the circuit should be broken only after the pull of the magnet has been experienced by the armature to the full extent ossible and the full Winding action is caused. it the mercury should flow away from contact position as soon as the chamber in the rocking movement which it derives from the winding action passed the horizontal posi ber.

reason of inc the full stroke ture was made; but the contact the chamber being at some considerable distance from the oi the rocking movement the first effect of that movement is to give to the mercury globule a centrifugal tendency, by which is held at the contact end during substantially the Whole rocking movement or at least until the chamber is so nearly vertical that the action of gravity overcomes the centrifugal tendency. The

range of me rocking movement due to the Winding action is calculated to be such as to carry the chamber 18 positlvely that is, While the abutment 6 still remains in contact with the Winding-lever and by direct push of said abutment against said leverwell around toward vertical position, and the slot 12 is extended so that Whenever the momentum resulting from the impact of the abutment on the cam is sufficient to 7 drive the cam ahead of the abutment the chamber 18 may tilt even past the vertical position. The practical effect is that the circult is kept closed by the centrifugal tendency of the mercury keeping it at the contact end throughout the Whole stroke'of the armaturethat is, until it is stopped at its nearest approach to the magnetpoles-the chamber being by that time so far around toward a vertical position that gravity overcomes the centrifugal tendency and causes the circuit to be broken by the movement of themercury toward the depressed end of the cham- Thuscontact lasts as long as the energluing of the magnet can be operative for the purpose of giving Winding action and terminates Whenit Would no longer operate to increase the Winding movement. Substantially all Waste of current is thus prevented, While sufficient duration of the current to produce the maximum winding is insured.

The term liquid-contact chamber as used in this specification is employed to denote, generically, the chamber With its electrodes, liquid-contact element, and circuit connections, the end toward which the liquid is made to flow forclosing the circuit being denoted the contact end, and the invention is not to be understood as limited to the specific construction in which the chamber, being metallic and being in unin sulated connection With the frame, constitutes one of the electrodes, although specifically this construction is regarded as desirable. Neither is the invention to be understood as limited to having the liquid-contact chamber carried rigidly with the element which moves back and forth" in the Windin and running processes, respectively, but this is regarded, nevertheless, as spe cifically the most simple and for manyfsitnations the most effective form of the devlce.

I claim 1. In an electrically-wound mechanism in combination with a shaft, a motor; an electromagnet and its armature; an element actuated by the armature when the magnet is energized; mechanical means by which such actuation sets the motor for operatin said shaft comprising an element which has a back-and-forth rocking movement about such shaft, performed respectively in the winding and running actions; a liquid-contact chamber in the magnet-energ zing circuit carried by said element in its rocking movement and thereby rocked about the axis of said movement, its position with respect to said axis being such that it is tilted to circuit-closing position by the running action and to circuit-breaking position by the winding action.

2. In an electrically-wound mechanism in mmbination with a shaft, an element in the mechanism which has a back-and-forth rocking movement performed respectively in the winding and running actions; a liquid-contact chamber rigid with said rocking element and. thereby participating in said rocking movement, said chamber being mounted with respect to the axis of said movement so that it is rocked or tilted to circuit-closing position. by the running action and to circuit breaking position. by the winding action.

3. An electrieally-wound mechanism comprising a shaft and a sleeve mounted thereon; connections by which the sleeve is rocked back and. forth in the winding and running movements respectively of the mechanism; a lever-arm extended from such sleeve past the bearing of the shaft at one end; a liquidcontact chamber which is carried rigidly by said arm beyond said bearing, and thereby partakes of the rocking movement of the sleeve, said chamber being mounted relatively to the axis of said rocking movement so that it is rocked or tilted to circuiteclosing position by the running action, and to circuit-breaking position by the winding action.

4. An electrically-wound mechanism comprising a shaft and a sleeve mounted thereon between the journal-bearings of the shaft; connections by which such sleeve is rocked back and forth in the winding and running processes respectively of the mechanism; an

arm extending from the sleeve longitudinally with respect to the shaft past one bearing thereof, and a li uid-contact chamber carried rigidly by sai arm and supported thereby in position extending past the end of the shaft beyond said bearing, whereby said chamber partakes of the rocking movement of the sleeve and is traversed by the axis of said movement, said chamberbeing so mounted with respect to said axis as to be rocked to circuit-closing position by the running action, and to circuit-breaking position by the winding action.

5. An electricall wound mechanism comprising a rocking e ement journaled between the bearing-plates, and connections by which it is rocked back and forth in the winding and running processes respectively, said element having a lever-arm extended through one bearing plate; a liquid contact chamber mounted rigidly at one end of such lever-arm beyond the plate, in position traversed by the axis produced of its rocking movement, said chamber being mounted with respect to said axis in position such that the range of its rocking movement thereby is from a osition at which said chamber trends from orizontal position slightly downward toward the contact end to a position at which it is vertical with the contact end upward.

6. An electrically-wound mechanism comprising an element which has back-and-forth rocking movements performed respectively in the winding and running processes; a liquid-contact chal'nber supported by and carried rigidly with said rocking element in its rocking movements, said element having an arm which extends past its bearing at one end and carries an eye located substantially in line with the axis of said rocking move ment, the magnet-energizing circuit comprising a circuit-wire running from the contact end of the liquid-contact chamber out through said eye.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, at Bristol, Connecticut, this 6th day of October,

PERCY L. CLARK. =In presence of- CIIAs. R. HARE, ALVIN R. LAMB. 

